Orion
I love this new scarfy/wrappy pattern, Orion, from Nick Davis. I adore the simple but elegant welted ribs – they always give a simple air of style to a basic knit. Plus, it’s made with one of my favourite yarns, Malabrigo Rios. Rios is a hand dyed, super soft, machine washable merino wool made in Uruguay by a family owned company that supports local development environmental sustainability (plus they’re really nice, I met them at a trade show last summer and we chatted for a bit). If you want to substitute another yarn, you can use any worsted weight yarn.
The pattern uses basic short-row shaping to create the asymmetrical ribs (something else I love). If short-rows are a technique you don’t already know you don’t need to be afraid, they aren’t difficult and are definitely worth learning. There are LOTS of tutorials online, there’s a good one with photos and video HERE.
Mini Short-Row Knit-Hack
It’s easy to lose track of where you are in most knitting projects, but if you start with a consistent system your chance of success goes up exponentially! The most important thing about how to make short rows successful and fun is to keep track of what you are doing and where you are:
- Put a locking stitch marker in your wraps to mark them. Everything is easier when you can see it clearly!
- Keep track of your rows as you go. Your system doesn’t have to be fancy, I usually just use paper and pencil to track where I am in the pattern, and I often tick off my progress right on my pattern. Plus, I’m a big fan of pencils, because if I have to rip back my work I can erase and adjust my notes without making a mess that will inevitably confuse me later.
Materials
- Malabrigo Rios: 3 skeins (or 600m of worsted weight yarn)
- 4.5mm/US7 – 36″ to 40″ circular needles (try Addi Turbos, Clover Takumi, or Knitter’s Pride Interchangeable)
- Tapestry or Darning needle
- locking stitch markers (optional, to mark your wraps, see hack above)
